By Tiernan Ray

Here are some things going on this morning in your world of tech:

Telecom equipment giant Ericsson (ERIC) this morning said it will take a non-cash charge of kr 8 billion, or $1.23 billion, to write down assets to reflect the fair market value of its ST-Ericsson joint venture, which partner STMicroelectronics (STM) is exiting. Ericsson shares are off 11 cents, or 1%, at $9.97.

Bankers are dropping coverage, the common is headed for the scrap heap, but that hasn’t stopped shares of video game maker THQ (THQI) from rebounding this morning, rising 12 cents, or 31%, to 48 cents following yesterday 73% drop after the company said it would file for bankruptcy,

Private equity firm Clearlake intends to buy the company’s domestic assets for $60 million, with funding assistance from THQ’s creditors. Late yesterday, World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), whose name appears on THQ’s biggest franchise, said it expects to be an “active participant” in the bankruptcy filing, according to wire service reports.

THQ president Jason Rubinsaid in an open letter on the company’s Web site, ostensibly directed to fans of the games, that “THQ made headlines today – and I am sure there will be tons of click-grabbing headlines over the next month or so […] But what matters is […] the teams will be unburdened by the past and able to focus on what they should be focusing on — Making great games.”

Shares of Jabil Circuit (JBL) are up 85 cents, or almost 5%, at $19.42 after the company last night beat fiscal Q1 revenue and profit expectations and forecast this quarter’s results in line with consensus.

I haven’t seen any upgrades yet, but there are some estimate increases. Needham & Co.’s Sean Hannan reiterates a Buy rating, while hiking this year’s projection to $18.46 billion from $18.33 billio, while cutting his EPS estimate to $2.22 a share from $2.25.

JBL declined last night to comment on the supply-chain situation of Apple (AAPL), which analysts believe represents 10% of Jabil’s business.

Apple hand-wringing returns

And this morning, shares of Apple are down $1.63 at $524.68 as the Street continues to worry about that supply chain situation.

Sanford Bernstein’s Tony Sacconaghi this morning cut his price target on Apple from $800 to $750, while reiterating an Outperform rating, writing that the company must introduce new products or else face the prospect of only single digit percentage revenue growth come

And Susquehanna’s Chris Caso, who follows semiconductor makers that get business from Apple, wrote this morning that “iPhone shipments are likely to miss consensus expectations for one or both of these quarters.” Since no one seems to know why production volume has fallen, Caso opines that “the most plausible interpretation of that production data is that demand is below expectations.”

Of course, shares are also reacting to the news last night that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office rejected a second Apple patent at center of Apple’s $1.05 billion victory in August against Samsung Electronics (005930KS), the so-called “pinch-to-zoom” patent.

Speaking of Apple, Aaron Lee and Joseph Tsai of DigiTimesthis morning report the company has recently increased orders for the iPad mini from 8 million to 12 million “due to strong sales worldwide,” and that production may go as high as 12 million, citing multiple unnamed sources in the electronics supply chain “upstream.”

Street likes a Google deal

Shares of Google (GOOG) are up $1.59 at $721.70 after the company last night said that it would sell the set-top box unit of its Motorola division to cable supplier Arris Group (ARRS) for $2.35 billion in cash and stock.

The sell side is happy with the deal. Reflecting on the purchase price, Jefferies & Co.’s Brian Pitz, who rates the stock a Buy, with an $850 price target, writes this morning that given Google paid $12.5 billion for Motorola, and got about $6.2 billion in cash and deferred tax assets, when you take out what Google’s getting from Arris for the set-top unit, “we get a purchase price of just under $4B for Motorola’s handset business and patent portfolio (17K patents and 7.5K patent applications).”

“This compares very favorably to recent patent deals such as Apple, Microsoft, RIM, Sony, Ericsson, and EMC paying $4.5B for 6K patents (July ’11) and Microsoft paying $1B for 800+ AOL patents (April ’12). Based on a sum of the parts, one could conclude GOOG acquired either the handset or its patents for a very minimal cost.”

Of course, one potential loser in the transaction is TiVo (TIVO), which some had thought might be able to squeeze a settlement out of Google in an ongoing patent fight between TiVo and Motorola. Instead, Google said it’s indemnifying Arris for future limitation with TiVo. Lazard Capital’s Barton Crockett, who has a Buy rating on shares of TiVo, and a $14 price target, this morning writes that “TiVo’s leverage tied to the sale was less than we thought.

“The next big pressure point for settlement is the May trial, with settlement talk also likely to step up during the court ordered arbitration process proceeding the trial.”

About Tech Trader Daily

Tech Trader Daily is a blog on technology investing written by Barron’s veteran Tiernan Ray. The blog provides news, analysis and original reporting on events important to investors in software, hardware, the Internet, telecommunications and related fields. Comments and tips can be sent to: techtraderdaily@barrons.com.